A Change of Character
by durancedurance
Summary: One evening at the New Amsterdam Theatre in New York City, principal cast members Ashley Brown and Gavin Lee have discovered that something is amiss during the stage production of Mary Poppins. What could be happening to these two leads?
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Hey guys! Yep, it's a new one. I've had this idea forever, and I wanted to get the ball rolling before the idea died, but first I had to play a little catch up on my other stories. Now, I understand many of my readers have not seen the stage musical of Mary Poppins. I apologize, because that's basically all that this one is about. However, if you know the MP lore well enough, you can still understand and follow along, and you may just enjoy it anyways! For those of you who have seen the glorious stage production, we're going to have some fun with the Original Broadway Cast members! Whether you know what's going on or not, please review, and if you choose to stick with the story after this, you're in for a real ride. Thanks guys! Love, Elizabeth**

Her heels clacking on the floor, the young woman smiled as the sound her shoes made echoed down the hallway she had just entered. The young woman didn't know exactly _why_ she was smiling. After all, it was another long night of work ahead of her, and while it was work she enjoyed so much it didn't really feel like work, she felt she hadn't been up to par lately. This day was not particularly different than any other, she had no particular reason to be full of smiles. She was mostly a smiling person, but today just seemed...well, exciting. As she continued down the hallway, a dog barked beside her- her dog to be exact, for no explicable reason. He, too, seemed to be in a great mood.

"You too Eddie?" she said fondly.

The dog barked again in response, and his tongue lolled out of his mouth in a sloppy grin. The woman finally turned the corner to see several people milling about.

"Hey Ashley!" a young man called to her as he walked by.

"Hi Kevin!" she replied. Eddie barked as well. As the young woman, Ashley, proceeded on her journey, she had a feeling of anxiety creep in to her stomach, despite the giddy need to smile. Something didn't quite feel right, not in a bad way or in a foreboding manner, but something was definitely amiss. The young woman's feeling of premonition intensified as she reached a door with a sign at eye-level that read "Ashley Brown" on it. Ashley, Ashley Brown to be exact, entered her dressing room and closed the door, took her puppy Eddie off his leash, and gave a content sigh.

After setting down her purse and putting her phone out on her counter, she grabbed a Red Bull from the fridge in the corner. The room was cozy and well-decorated. There were a few chairs, flowers, and mementos scattered about. Pictures bordered around her mirror, the bright makeup lights already on and all her supplies already out. Coats hung neatly in their proper places- red, black, blue, purple, and even a colorful pink number. Underneath the costumes sat a carpet bag and black umbrella with a parrot's head. Next to Ashley's phone on the counter stood a framed photograph of Julie Andrews, as her iconic role, Mary Poppins. Eddie sniffed about the room as Ashley began running through some vocal warm-ups, and occasionally Eddie would join in with grunts and howls.

"Keep it down over there will ya?" yelled a man with an educated British accent, shortly after a couple of knocks on the wall. Ashley merely rolled her eyes as she heard laughter in the direction of the man with the British accent. Eddie barked.

"Ignore him Eddie," Ashley shouted loud enough for the man next door to hear.

"Oh I don't mind Eddie, it's that woman he's always with," the man yelled back, laughing.

"Cheeky," Ashley muttered to herself. She stopped rummaging through her makeup for a moment, surprised at the statement she had just made. After a second of thought she shook it off, and tacked it up to her nerves and odd emotions she'd been having all evening. As Ashley began putting on makeup, copious amounts of pink blush and flaming red lipstick being involved, her anxiety grew. She was never really one for nerves, but this evening seemed to keep eating away at her. It wasn't an upsetting feeling, but as she began getting in her first costume, Ashley began to feel somewhat different. She was not really a superstitious person, although there were rumors that a ghost haunted the theatre. Ashley didn't know why, but she knew as she sat in her dressing room at the New Amsterdam Theatre in New York City, where she played Mary Poppins on broadway eight nights a week, she knew, something was happening.

As if to confirm her suspicions, at that very moment, her dressing room door flew open, and a burst of wind played at the corners of her pictures and rustled the remaining costumes on the rack. Ashley's wig stayed in place, as it was meant to do, but her skirt played about her ankles and the ruffles down the front of her blouse played in the sudden breeze. After whatever it was had blown through, Ashley blinked her eyes in surprise. How could a blowing wind come flying through the theatre, or _any_ theatre for that matter? Ashley didn't think much of it however, due to her frustration of being interrupted during her preparation. She looked at the wide open dressing door in frustration.

"Was that _really_ necessary?" Ashley stated at the door, as she was wont to with inanimate objects. To her intense surprise however, the door swung shut, as if blown back shut again by the mysterious impossible breeze that had blown through the dressing rooms. _Maybe I'm not feeling well_, Ashley thought. She decided another gulp of Red Bull would hit the spot, but after grabbing it off of the counter, she suddenly had no desire for the stuff, and promptly dumped it out in the sink. She then thought to check her cell phone one more time before the show, but noticed it was no longer on the counter. It was somewhere in her dressing room, but she couldn't seem to locate it. In her frustration she snapped her fingers, and to her immense surprise, found that her phone was in her left hand.

"What in the-" she began, but did not complete her statement due to rapt knocking at her dressing room door. _I must have had it in my hand the whole time. Only _I _could do something like that._ She opened the door to find a tall, dark, and handsome man leaning against her door frame in brown pants, a quilted vest, and a red handkerchief around his neck, along with a brown cabbie hat atop his head.

"Oh it's you. And here I thought I told Eddie to quit hanging around with you," the man said in a perfect British accent, although it had slowly crept into more of a cockney sound. Eddie came trotting over to the door and barked.

"Ello there Eddie," the man said, stepping into the dressing room.

"You are so witty Gavin, have I told you that before?" Ashley stated in a sarcastic fashion as she shut the door behind him.

"Doesn't hurt to tell me again," Gavin said with a bright smile as he scratched Eddie behind his ears.

"This room really is a mess," Ashley said, placing her hands on her hips and looking about the room and sighing.

"Yeah, alright _Mary_," Gavin laughed, taking a seat in a chair in the corner, only after he removed a few magazines and a sweater from it.

"I'm being serious Gavin. Don't be cheeky."

"Oh? Now I'm _cheeky_? Since when were you a method actor Ash?" he laughed.

"I...I didn't mean cheeky. I meant don't be a smart-ass," Ashley stated, blinking a few times.

"Uh huh. The costume helped make your previous statements quite hilarious though," he said, giving Ashley a wink. She responded by raising one of her eyebrows, then decided to sit down at her makeup counter and continue her routine that had been so rudely interrupted, twice.

"I haven't been quite myself today. I'm not sure, I can't explain it. I just hope I'm alright tonight."

"You'll be fine, you always are. You hardly get worked up though, what's the problem?"

"I don't know, I feel fine, just...something is different. What did you come over here for anyways?" Ashley asked, applying more rouge to her cheeks.

"Well I was curious. Call me crazy, but my dressing room door flew open suddenly a few moments ago and this gust of wind blew everything around. It sounds impossible but I swear it happened," Gavin said.

"That happened to you too?" Ashley said, turning around in her chair to look at him.

"It happened to you? I really thought I was imagining things."

"Just now. I told you something if off. If you can believe it, I didn't even finish my Red Bull a moment ago. I didn't want it. Then I couldn't find my phone, and after searching and searching I discovered it in my hand. I must be losing my mind," she laughed.

"That _is_ strange," Gavin said.

"Not to mention, after the door blew open I got so frustrated and yelled at it-" Gavin snorted, not surprised at her statement. "Oh behave yourself." Gavin's eyebrows shot up in amusement.

"_Behave_ myself?"

"It must be nerves. I'm just a mess tonight." Gavin now had a wry smile on his face. She did seem to be a little off tonight. "Well you know me, I scolded my door and it swung shut of its own accord. I can't explain it."

"The place _is_ haunted," Gavin suggested.

"You don't believe that, do you?"

"Anything can happen."

"Lame," Ashley laughed.

"Hmm, that was a terrible joke. I guess you aren't the only one in bad form tonight," he laughed.

"This place couldn't possibly haunted. And that's a horrible explanation for why I'm on the fritz tonight."

"You never know what could happen around here. We are performing a quite magical show," he laughed. "Don't worry about it, you'll get all keyed up." Ashley smiled at him for the confidence booster. Despite his goofy demeanor, Gavin could be quite the gentleman. "Well I have to get ready for curtain. Shall I meet you in the park then?" he said, laughing at his own terrible pun.

"You really _are_ in bad form tonight," Ashley laughed.

"We can't all be practically perfect," Gavin smiled as he exited the dressing room. Ashley rolled her eyes, but she was smiling. Eddie came over to sniff around her skirt.

"Oh Eddie, what are we going to do with him?" Eddie began a series of barks up at her, and then went to sit in his bed. "I swear you think you can talk sometimes."

With that, Ashley checked her makeup and costume one last time, secured her hat on expertly, and put on her white gloves. She grabbed the iconic carpet bag and parrot-head umbrella and stood in front of her mirror. Something _was_ different. Of course, she looked exactly like Mary Poppins now, but something _inside_ of Ashley felt different. It was foreign and exciting, but welcoming. Whatever it was, Ashley just hoped that the show that night would be spit spot. _Now _I'm _making bad puns_, she thought to herself, shaking her head as she left her dressing room, her black boots clacking on the floor on her way to the stage.


	2. Chapter 2

"Wind's in the East, there's a mist comin' in- like something is brewing, and 'bout to begin. Can't put me finger on what lies in store, but I feel what's to happen, all happened before..." Gavin sang the opening lines to the musical. He'd sung them over and over, eight nights a week for several months, nay, several years now. It had only been so many months on Broadway, but Gavin had been playing the role of Bert for much longer on the West End stage. Ashley had come down to the stage just in time to see him open up the show, having missed the overture by just a moment. It didn't matter, she would arrive later in the show. The scene began, and Gavin sauntered off the stage to grab a prop, and winked at her before heading back onstage.

The story was being set- here was a broken family, an incompetent nanny, and don't forget the rather interesting neighbors. As the enormous house set rolled on, Gavin sang his final opening note and snapped his fingers for the lights to come on. He smiled and walked off stage, opposite of where Ashley was waiting. She would soon have to go down to a platform that would come up through the stage floor for her entrance. As she watched, suddenly the two children playing Jane and Michael rushed on stage, screaming as they went. Normally this didn't phase Ashley, she loved the two little actors, but tonight as they ran shouting on to the scene, as they were supposed to, she found it highly annoying. _Maybe I need a break_, she thought. _I'm sure they won't mind putting on an understudy for tomorrow's matinee._ It wasn't that Ashley was tired or didn't want to perform, she just felt she wasn't doing it right. She somehow felt unworthy and not quite herself. She shrugged it off however and went down to get ready for her entrance.

As Ashley made her way down to the contraption that would rise up to the stage, she saw Gavin sitting on the machine, waiting for her. He winked as she approached.

"And what exactly are _you_ doing down here?" she asked.

"Talking to you," Gavin said with a mischievous smile.

"I'm sorry but I have to get ready," Ashley sniffed, rather uncharacteristically.

"Well aren't we a bit high strung tonight?"

"I told you Bert...Gavin, sorry," Ashley said, her eyes opening wide at her slip.

"Getting into character- that's good," he teased.

"Oh come off it. I said I wasn't feeling myself tonight," Ashley said.

"I know, but you're not Ashley anymore, you're Mary Poppins," he laughed.

"Was it the hair that tipped you off? Or the umbrella?" Ashley glared with her deep brown eyes.

"Well I can tell when I'm not wanted. You're on soon anyways. Cheer up love, you'll do fine," Gavin said as he disappeared into the shadows. Ashley grumbled to herself, listened to the orchestra above, then decided she had just enough time to get down off the platform she was waiting on to go give Gavin one last snide remark. Ashley was known for having the last word, and she wanted it now more than ever. Although she didn't have a particular snide remark in mind, her frustration led her to the steep stairs of the platform to climb down. In her haste, and due to the lack of light, she tripped on the first step.

_Here we go,_ she thought mid-air. She wasn't new to being a klutz. Ashley prepared herself for contact with the stairs, but as they came into her limited view as she flailed in the air, she became extremely confused. She didn't seem to be going anywhere- she was stuck- _in midair_. She immediately felt to see if she was wearing the wires she wore later in the show to achieve flight...she wasn't. She started to panic, her breathing and heart rate increasing. There she was- suspended in mid-air with her arms and legs spread out as she stared at the stairs below her.

_This isn't possible_, she thought. "This can't be..." she breathed quietly. As she started to freak out even more, a voice in the back of her head said '_don't panic_.' Ashley could have laughed. _Right, don't panic. I'm only floating two feet off the ground and have no idea how to get down. Not to mention the fact that this __**isn't possible**_. The voice in the back of her head scoffed at the mention of something like flight being impossible, and suddenly Ashley had the idea that if she tried to put her foot out slowly from her spread-eagled position mid-air, she might just get down. Despite being frightened of currently defying all laws of gravity, Ashley did have _some _experience flying, so to speak. She played a flying nanny eight nights a week- albeit with wires. Tentatively, Ashley started by putting her right foot down and had righted herself in midair. Now that she was standing up straight, although two feet off the ground at the top of a steep staircase, she put her right foot out and put her chin up and slowly descending to the floor. To anyone that might have seen her in the dark, she would have appeared to have simply walked down the stairs, but Ashley knew better. She _flew_ down the stairs. She alighted on the floor with her right foot first, then her left. She took a deep breath, realizing she had been holding it for quite some time.

"I must be losing my mind," Ashley said aloud to no one. After regaining her composure, she realized it was nearly time for her entrance. She slowly walked back up the steps she had previously flew over and took her place on the platform. She was never really nervous before her entrance, but when you just flew above a flight of stairs, with no wires, you tend to get jittery. _'It's perfectly normal,' _said the voice in the back of her head. _Great, now I'm hearing voices. Because thinking you can fly isn't enough. _Ashley could hear her entrance coming. _'Not just think you can. You can. You know precisely what to do,' _the voice said. Ashley rubbed her temples and blinked her eyes. _I'll be lucky if I get through my first number. I can't handle voices in my head and flying right now, I have a show to perform. Maybe the understudy would have to go on tonight- surely hearing voices and flying was a good enough reason._ All of the sudden the platform began to rise, and Ashley's heart leapt into her throat. There was no turning back now.

When the lights hit Ashley's sleek form as she came out of the stage floor to thunderous applause, all anxiety immediately disappeared. She _did_ know precisely what to do, and she was amazing at it. "I've come in answer to the advertisement," she stated firmly. She'd said these lines over and over it was second nature, but tonight, her firm character had an extra ounce of gusto. As she ran through her lines she started to calm down completely, slipping into a completely different state of mind than her previous panic of the evening. "Rosy cheeks and fairly pretty," she read from her sheet of paper. "There'll be no objection on that score I hope," she stated with the coyest of smiles. "Not at all," Mr. Banks replied, touching his cap. "Glad to hear it," a genuine smile spreading across Ashley's face. The voice had gone away, but she could have sworn she could hear the voice...smiling.

As Ashley set the scene and argued with Mrs. Banks onstage, Gavin stood off of it, watching. He usually didn't watch the show from the wings, but tonight he felt compelled to. He always enjoyed his co-star, Ashley, but something about her tonight lured him to the stage to watch. Gavin's smile grew as Ashley came down with the children in the nursery set, and began the tape measure ruse. He couldn't see the audience, but he knew they'd all be beaming at the ever iconic scene. Furthermore, he knew the veterans in the audience would find it hard to separate her from the icon of Julie Andrews. Gavin knew though, that Ashley was truly nothing like her, but when she got going, even he could believe it. Tonight was no different, in fact, she was the best he'd seen her.

Just before she began a new number called "Practically Perfect," in which Mary describes her qualified status, the audience delighted at her pulling out a hat stand. Gavin smiled, despite knowing the ruse. _'She's pretty isn't she? Especially when she does something like that,' _a voice said in the back of Gavin's head. His eyebrows furrowed at this thought. _'Surely you agree...' _the voice said, noting Gavin's hesitancy. _Excellent, Ashley got all worked up and now I'm hearing things. I blame her, _he thought, rolling his eyes in the dark. Gavin turned his attention back to Ashley as she began to sing. She had already pulled out the hat stand and a plant, and the audience laughed as she had just pulled a large mirror out of her bag. Next she pulled out an apron, looking at herself in the mirror stating, "Oh lovely," in-between verses. Gavin smiled, she was very pretty, he had to admit. But Ashley had always just been a good friend. Someone to laugh with and have a good time with. _'That's how it starts,' _the voice said. _No wonder everyone says actors are crazy, _Gavin thought, _they must know we're hearing things._

"Both prim and proper, and never too stern. Well-educated, yet willing to learn," Ashley sang with confidence, describing the qualities that made Mary so great. Ashley was feeling confident, almost as if she had forgotten the previous incident below the stage. She turned to her carpetbag to pull out the little collapsable lamp that came out next, continuing to sing. She put her hands in and grabbed what felt like an upside-down glass bowl. There was no stopping now, so she grabbed tight, singing and keeping up with the orchestra, and pulled out...a giant, gorgeous antique tiffany lamp. She could hear the audience's delight at the recognizable scene- she was pulling out a real tiffany lamp nearly like the one in the movie. _What in the- this isn't possible! This is a real lamp! Where did it come from? If this is for real I must be losing my mind, _Ashley thought, struggling to pull the entire lamp out.

Gavin's jaw dropped in amazement. Ashley began to pull out a _real_ tiffany lamp, almost exactly like the one in the movie. He couldn't believe it, and by the look on her face, she couldn't believe it either. _How did she do that? There's no way a stagehand gave her that, _thought Gavin. Gavin never expected Ashley to pull a stunt like this off. _'Why not? You don't know her very well if you think _that's _amazing,' _said the voice in the back of Gavin's head. _You know you're getting annoying? Oh blimey, I'm answering it,_ he thought.

_This is absolutely ridiculous. First I talk like her, I fly like her, and now I'm pulling the same crap as her? Method acting has nothing on this, _Ashley thought irritably. _That or I'm just insane. It must be the lights. _She continued the song, crossing over the other side of the nursery as she sang. After placing the lamp in the corner (it barely fit) she began to get worried. In a moment she would have to snap and the lamp would (hopefully) turn on. Since she had no idea where this lamp came from, she assumed there was no way this lamp was rigged like the original little dinky collapsable one she normally used. The verse came up, "...and whilst I remain, there's nothing else I feel I need explain..." and she snapped her fingers. Normally she wasn't supposed to look, but Ashley was concerned as to whether the trick had worked or not. Even without looking she knew by the audience's laughter that it had turned on, but she had to be sure herself. _'It isn't a trick, and of course it worked,' _the voice in her head said. She just smiled and picked up the song- "I'm practically perfect, in every way. Practically perfect- that's my forte..." and as she continued, she couldn't help but wonder how anything that had happened was possible.

_My goodness she turned it on, _Gavin thought. He couldn't believe that not only had she procured the tiffany lamp, she snapped it on as well. He knew something was different tonight, and now he had that odd feeling of anxiety that Ashley had been describing before the show. _'That isn't anxiety,' _the back of Gavin's brain said slyly. _Shhh, _Gavin thought. He was on a mission now. He didn't have much time, but he knew he had to find a stagehand before Jolly Holiday started. He ran back behind the nursery set while Ashley was finishing up the number. He hoped to find a stagehand to ask about the mysterious magical stunt Ashley pulled, but oddly enough, could find no one after a minute or two of searching. For now he'd just have to chalk it up to magic- he was about to go on.

The orchestra swelled, the park came into view, and the spotlight hit Gavin as he began to sing. "Chim-chiminey, chim-chiminey, chim chim cheroo. I does what I likes, and I likes what I do..." he sang gayly, delighting the audience with his quirky comedy. He continued to sing and bantered with the park keeper, and then went back to his drawing, pretending to not notice the woman who, with a graceful hand flourish, suddenly stood next to him. Normally Gavin thought nothing of this encounter, but his heart began to race as he felt Ashley's presence beside him. "Stay right where you are! I know that silhouette anywhere...Mary Poppins!" he said, standing up to face her.

"It's nice to see you Bert," Ashley said congenially, but on the inside her heart was racing. She never felt like this onstage. Of course, she never did a lot of the things she'd already done tonight. Why did she feel like such a little girl?

"Well I must say, you do look swell," Gavin said, giving her a wink. And he meant it- she honestly did. _'Of course she does.' _

Ashley patted her hair and grinned, she just couldn't help herself. What was it he said? "Shall I meet you in the park then?" What a horrible line to use on a girl. _'It worked.' _Ashley nearly rolled her eyes onstage, catching herself just in time to give "Michael" a snide remark. She turned to Gavin with the sincerest of smiles to ask, "Have you met these two Bert?" and as Gavin stepped forward and planted himself between her and the kids to deliver his lines, Ashley couldn't help but look at him. _'You shouldn't be doing this,' _the back of her brain said. _Well this isn't my fault, it's yours. Oh great, now I'm blaming the voice in my head for things. Wait..._but before she could come up with a theory, it was her turn to speak. "Come on Bert, you're due for a break and you promised you'd take me out if we met again, or have you forgotten?" And suddenly it dawned on her. _'Shall I meet you in the park then?' _the voice in her head laughed. As Gavin set her up to perform a bit of magic, claiming he had no money to take her out, Ashley began to tingle.

"My treat, and no one's charging for the trees in the sky," she said pleasantly. Her anxiety had started to compound into a tingling sensation, and it almost made her feel giddy. As the kids and Gavin bantered back and forth, she became more and more excited. Soon Gavin began to sing, and as they entered the park, Ashley's excitement continued to build. She wasn't really paying any attention until suddenly Gavin had her hand in his and he started in on the popular song..."It's a jolly holiday with Mary," and if she could have blushed any brighter than her rouge would allow, she would have. Instead she said what she supposed to, and he continued to praise Mary as the song was designed. She played the coy little game Mary always played with Bert, but this time, Ashley could really feel it. She stayed calm, keeping the tingling electric current running through her at bay.

"The daffodils are smiling at the dove..."

"I haven't the faintest idea what-"

"When Mary holds your hand, you feel so grand..." Gavin continued, and Ashley could have sworn she felt a spark when he took her hand again. _'Don't let go.'_

Gavin kept singing, but every time he touched her, he got a little bit dizzy. _Maybe I'm getting ill now too. Damn it Ashley, now you've made me screw up tonight. Nothing feels right. _"Oh it's a jolly holiday with Mary, no wonder that it's Mary that we love..." he finished before heading out to exit for his quick change with Ashley, taking her by the arm. _'Don't let go.'_

As both actors made it backstage in a flurry, they locked eyes for one moment. There wasn't really any time for words, in 30 seconds they had to go from normal Mary and Bert attire to technicolor costumes. Ashley struggled with her coat and Gavin rushed to get his vest off. With time running out and Ashley's frustration and leftover electric current of excitement reaching its height, she snapped- whether out of anger or impulse, she snapped her fingers. She was surprised at herself for snapping, seeing as it was the second time that night, but quickly got over it when she realized what she had done.

"Ashley..." Gavin said, his mouth hanging open in astonishment. Only a moment before she had removed nothing of her previous costume except her hat. Now she was fully dressed in her Jolly Holiday outfit. She had gone from wearing black boots, black tights, a blue skirt, and a blue coat over a white shirt and red bow-tie to a pink dress over a white shirt and white stockings with a matching pair of pink heels and pink hat in a mere moment.

"I...look at you," she breathed. And as Gavin looked down at himself he realized that he had gone from his brown trousers, shirt and patched vest, brown hat and orange handkerchief to white trousers and shoes, a purple jacket with a hat to match and a pretty pink bow-tie.

"That wasn't-"

"I think it was," Ashley whispered. "Gavin...we have to talk. I think something's happened."

"I hadn't noticed," Gavin said sarcastically, though by the look on his face Ashley could tell he was still in shock from her little stunt.

"Gavin I-"

"We're on," Gavin and headed back out on stage. _Flew_, Ashley thought, finishing her sentence in her head as she followed him out onto the stage. That information would have to wait though- she had a date in the park.


End file.
